ESTUDIO DEL CAPÍTULO
Tobit 6 — The Fish, the Demon, and the Journey to Ecbatana
On the journey to Rages, a fish threatens Tobiah in the Tigris; Raphael tells him to keep the heart, liver, and gall. Near Ecbatana, Raphael arranges Tobiah's marriage to his kinswoman Sarah, and prescribes a ritual smoke from the fish organs to drive away the demon that has killed her seven husbands.
Escritura
- 1.Journey to Rages Now as they proceeded on their way they came at evening to the Tigris river and camped there.
- 2.Then the young man went down to wash himself. A fish leaped up from the river and would have swallowed the young man;
- 3.and the angel said to him, “Catch the fish.” So the young man seized the fish and threw it up on the land.
- 4.Then the angel said to him, “Cut open the fish and take the heart and liver and gall and put them away safely.”
- 5.So the young man did as the angel told him; and they roasted and ate the fish. And they both continued on their way until they came near to Ecbat′ana.
- 6.Then the young man said to the angel, “Brother Azari′as, of what use is the liver and heart and gall of the fish?”
- 7.He replied, “As for the heart and the liver, if a demon or evil spirit gives trouble to any one, you make a smoke from these before the man or woman, and that person will never be troubled again.
- 8.And as for the gall, anoint with it a man who has white films in his eyes, and he will be cured.”
- 9.Raph′ael’s Instructions When they approached Ecbat′ana,
- 10.the angel said to the young man, “Brother, today we shall stay with Rag′uel. He is your relative, and he has an only daughter named Sarah. I will suggest that she be given to you in marriage,
- 11.because you are entitled to her and to her inheritance, for you are her only eligible kinsman.
- 12.The girl is also beautiful and sensible. Now listen to my plan. I will speak to her father, and as soon as we return from Rages we will celebrate the marriage. For I know that Rag′uel, according to the law of Moses, cannot give her to another man without incurring the penalty of death, because you rather than any other man are entitled to the inheritance.”
- 13.Then the young man said to the angel, “Brother Azari′as, I have heard that the girl has been given to seven husbands and that each died in the bridal chamber.
- 14.Now I am the only son my father has, and I am afraid that if I go in I will die as those before me did, for a demon is in love with her, and he harms no one except those who approach her. So now I fear that I may die and bring the lives of my father and mother to the grave in sorrow on my account. And they have no other son to bury them.”
- 15.But the angel said to him, “Do you not remember the words with which your father commanded you to take a wife from among your own people? Now listen to me, brother, for she will become your wife; and do not worry about the demon, for this very night she will be given to you in marriage.
- 16.When you enter the bridal chamber, you shall take live ashes of incense and lay upon them some of the heart and liver of the fish so as to make a smoke.
- 17.Then the demon will smell it and flee away, and will never again return. And when you approach her, rise up, both of you, and cry out to the merciful God, and he will save you and have mercy on you. Do not be afraid, for she was destined for you from eternity. You will save her, and she will go with you, and I suppose that you will have children by her.” When Tobi′as heard these things, he fell in love with her and yearned deeply for her.
Qué significa este pasaje
The first half of the chapter (verses 1–8) centers on an unexpected encounter with a fish in the Tigris. Raphael instructs Tobiah to preserve the heart, liver, and gall, and later explains that the heart and liver drive away demons when burned as incense, while the gall heals white films on the eyes. The episode establishes that Raphael's protection of Tobiah is concrete and practical, not merely verbal.
The second half (verses 9–17) shifts to family and marriage. Raphael identifies Raguel as a relative with an eligible daughter, Sarah, and reminds Tobiah of his father's command to marry within his own people (verses 10–12, 15). The obstacle is a demon who has killed Sarah's seven successive husbands. Raphael's solution combines ritual action (live ashes of incense with the fish's heart and liver) with prayer to the merciful God, and he assures Tobiah that Sarah was 'destined for you from eternity.' The chapter therefore links physical obedience, angelic instruction, and divine providence around the formation of a family.
Throughout the chapter Tobiah's role is to listen and obey: he catches and cuts open the fish, he accepts the marriage plan despite fear, and he falls in love upon hearing Raphael's words. The narrative presents the organs of an ordinary fish as instruments of deliverance from both demonic affliction and physical blindness — a theme the book will complete when the same gall restores Tobit's sight in chapter 11.
Contexto
The chapter takes place entirely on the road: Tobiah and his disguised companion (still addressed as 'Brother Azarias') are traveling from Nineveh toward Rages in Media to collect a deposit. Chapter 5 set up the journey by introducing Raphael as a kinsman hired as a guide, and chapter 6 unfolds in two scenes — the riverside camp on the Tigris, and the approach to Ecbatana, where Raguel lives.
Chapter 6 functions as the hinge between Tobiah's travel mission and the marriage plot. The fish organs given in verses 2–5 are not used immediately; they become the resources for both Sarah's deliverance from the demon (chapter 8) and Tobit's cure from blindness (chapter 11). The chapter note simply records that the remaining chapters of Tobit outside its main selected range were backfilled for reference; no additional interpretive comment is supplied.
Preguntas frecuentes
Why does Raphael have Tobiah save the heart, liver, and gall of the fish?
According to Raphael's own explanation in verses 7–8, the heart and liver are to be burned as incense to drive away a demon or evil spirit troubling someone, while the gall is to anoint a man with white films in his eyes for healing. The organs thus become the means for both Sarah's deliverance and Tobit's later cure.
Who is Sarah, and why is Tobiah entitled to marry her?
Sarah is the only daughter of Raguel in Ecbatana (verses 10–12). Raphael explains that Tobiah is her closest eligible kinsman and is entitled to both her and her inheritance, and that under 'the law of Moses' Raguel cannot give her to another man without incurring the penalty of death. Raphael also recalls Tobit's earlier command to take a wife from among his own people (verse 15).
What does Raphael prescribe against the demon, and what is the role of prayer?
Raphael instructs Tobiah to lay the heart and liver of the fish upon live ashes of incense in the bridal chamber so that the demon will smell the smoke and flee (verses 16–17). Alongside this ritual, Tobiah and Sarah are told to rise up and cry out to the merciful God, who will save them and have mercy on them. Raphael frames the deliverance as both a physical act of obedience and a prayer to God, assuring Tobiah that Sarah 'was destined for you from eternity.'